Many different arrangements have been provided for attachment of accessories to an ATV type vehicle since such vehicles provide a convenient power plant for moving various accessories and avoid the necessity for a dedicated machine for each accessory. In recent years ATV type vehicles have achieved considerable market penetration and have dramatically improved in construction and features.
A number of examples of such mounting arrangements are shown in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,847 (Deeter) issued Sep. 5, 1972 shows a blade on a six wheel skid-steer type vehicle used at that time which has since become obsolete. In this system there is provided a bar supporting the blade at its forward end and extending under the vehicle from a rear coupling at the hitch of the vehicle to a pair of front couplings which extend from brackets at the front wheels diagonally to the front end of the bar. This type of attachment is only applicable to the six wheel type vehicle for which it is proposed and has no suitability in the current four wheel front wheel steering type of vehicle which is common today.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,130 (Racicot) issued Oct. 7, 1986 provides a similar arrangement with a pair of parallel rails connected at the rear to the hitch and at the front to an angle iron bolted to the front bumper. This arrangement is designed for use with four wheel cycle type ATVs but is limited in its ability to mount to different makes of the ATV due to the specific locations of the mounting points. The blade can be pivoted side to side to provide an angle to the left or the right by selecting adjustment holes for a spring pin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,668 (Gustafson) issued Jan. 30, 2001 discloses a mounting for a snow blower or other similar driven devices at the front of an ATV type vehicle where the device is driven by an engine mounted at the rear of the vehicle and carried on a frame which extends from the hitch at the rear underneath the vehicle to caster wheels at the front where the device is located. The frame is formed in two sections where the rear section is attached first and is located on the hitch and on pegs underneath the vehicle and the front section is attached to the rear section to connect and drive shaft and to drive the front section forwardly by the rear section while the weight of the front section is carried on its caster wheels. The design is specifically proposed for a Polaris manufactured ATV and thus is unsuitable to attach to alternative makes of ATV.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,647 (Eberle) issued Jan. 17, 1995 shows a mower which is carried at the front of the vehicle on a frame which is mounted underneath the vehicle on bolts in suitable formed bolt holes in the vehicle. This arrangement is unsuitable since it requires drilling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,334 (Davies) issued Jan. 7, 2003 shows a blade mounted on a rigid frame having two diverging rails which are bolted at the rear to lugs on the underside of the vehicle and carried on a cable at the front which is hooked onto a suitable member of the vehicle above the frame. This arrangement requires the provision of suitable lugs on the vehicle which are not generally available and thus must be attached by the user. The blade can pivot side to side on a front pivot pin controlled by spring pin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,712 (Foote) issued Mar. 25, 1986 discloses a mower located underneath the vehicle which is carried on wheels and suspended on straps attached to the vehicle frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,577,330 of the present inventor issued May 6, 2003 discloses a mower located underneath the vehicle which is supported at the rear end on the hitch at which there is provided an engine for driving the mower and carried at the forward end underneath the vehicle on wheels and is prevented from side to side movement by chains attached to the vehicle frame at a suitable location above the mower. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference for any additional details of a machine of this type which may be omitted herein.
PCT published Application WO 02/26023 (De Thomasis) published Apr. 4, 2002 discloses a similar and related arrangement of a mower located underneath the vehicle with an engine for driving the mower at the rear and carried at the forward end underneath the vehicle on wheels and is prevented from side to side movement by straps attached to the vehicle frame at a suitable location above the mower. In this arrangement the rear end is not supported by the hitch but is instead carried on wheels. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference for any additional details of a machine of this type which may be omitted herein.